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The Dark Priesthood
The Dark Priesthood is a multi-tendency Empyrealist organization, created by their Dark Prophet, Azunar. With the Ruinous Testament as their foundational text, the Priesthood has stood as sworn and active enemies not merely of the Imperium, but of the Materium itself, for ten millennia. History Origins Azunar, Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers and Lord of Chaos, had finished his writing of the Ruinous Testament by the year 700.M31. But now he was faced with a new challenge: bringing this message to the masses of Mankind. And so he set to work. From the Eye of Terror to the Hadex Anomaly, the Truthbringer's servants and disciples searched the Chaos-dominated portions of the Galaxy for the founding members of this new organization. Finally, as the First Black Crusade of Warmaster Abaddon came to a close, Cults, mutant hordes, witch covens and traitor guardsmen regiments rallied to the daemonic Shrine World of Phrenesis deep within the Maelstrom. There, countless minor chaos champions and other heretical warlords battled it out in bloody gladiatorial matches to earn the leadership of all those forces convened. When only five remained, they were baptized in the blood of the vanquished as the first Dark Cardinals, who would swear their immortal souls to the realization of the Final Truth. At Present From their teeming Throneworld of Phrenesis, the Dark Priesthood seeks after a goal rarely sought by most heretics and blasphemers: to educate. One will find sprawling libraries and houses of learning upon the planets surface, where billions are trained in the most effective strategies to undermine both Imperial rule and the very laws of physics. With the triumph of the 13th Black Crusade and the creation of the Cicatrix Maledictum, the Priesthood works as never before, providing aid and information to any and all heretical organizations that aid in their pursuit of the Final Truth. Activities The Priesthood holds the Ruinous Testament as it's foundational text, whilst seeking to inspire individual spiritual practice and development, hoping to 'awaken' more souls to the Voice of Ruin. It fulfills it's purpose through open warfare, and to the Inquisition's horror, by playing the game of the Alpha Legion: Seeding Daemon Cults and painstakingly cultivating the seeds of Heresy. Though the Priesthood has a clear hierarchy when present on Phrenesis, across the galaxy it's Infernal Confessors act as independent agents of the gospel, applying their own unique strategies to establish cellular cult after cellular cult upon world after world after world. This lack of rigid stricture in it's lower and middle areas of hierarchy allow the Priesthood to function as a dynamic and amorphous threat to Imperial power. Astartes Cells/Allies (Needs Content. Feel free to add. Specify if your faction is an ally or a cell of the organization, and how it came to join.) These are the Warbands who have pledged allegiance to the Covenant of Ruin or have at least acted as allies. Mortal Cults or Allies (Needs Content. Feel free to add. Specify if your faction is an ally or a cell of the organization, and how it came to join.) The Priesthood, while it's own body, is also composed of many different cults spread throughout the Galaxy. The following Cults are either part of the Priesthood, or simply aligned/aided by them. The Bloodhost (Cult Cell) Khornate Traitor Guardsman regiment. The March of Change (Cult Cell) Tzeentchian Traitor Guardsman regiment. The Sons of Rot (Cult Cell) Nurglite Traitor Guardsman regiment. The Singing War (Cult Cell) Slaaneshi Traitor Guardsman regiment. The Black Throng (Cult Cell) Modeling itself after the anatomy of a Pale Throng revolutionary army, the Black Throng was born when former Shroud Master of the Pale Throng, the mutant Witch-King Xero, broke away from the Pale Throng's mainstream tendencies and embraced Chaos - specifically Empyrealism - as his cause. Synthesizing the Pale Throng's philosophy of the Psychic ascension of Mankind with Azunar's creed of destroying Falsespace, Xero preaches that the completion of Mankind's evolution into a psychic species requires the wholesale embrace of Chaos worship. Only by recognizing the Warp's infinite capacity for creation and it's role as the source of all truth and beauty can Mankind leave behind it's shackles and step into a new dawn. Since being elected to the rank of the Cardinals, Xero's message has become ever more popular, and the Black Throng grows. The Menagerie (Allies) The Menagerie, a shadowy Chaos Cult dedicated to spreading the "Truth of the Universe" to all willing to "Come and see", form a perfect ally of the Priesthood. Though most Warp-Dabblers and heretics fear the Menagerie for it's nightmarish reputation of absorbing and destroying other cults, The Priesthood has puts it's support behind the Menagerie, supplying whatever they may need to spread the Truth. The Priesthood and the Menagerie have been reported working side by side in many acts of carnage across the Calixis Sector. Sons of Flesh (Cult Cell) A Necrophagic Cult, the Sons of Flesh are a Cult that, strangely, strives for Spawnhood, seeing Spawn as the 'Children of Ruin'. They engage in cannibalism, ritual sacrifice and other actions of sadistic abandon. The Nights Blade (Cult Cell) The Nights Blade are a particularly insidious cell of the Priesthood, for the very reason that they draw recruits solely from either the Inquisition or Officio Assassinorum. Through the Nights Blade, many investigations by the Inquisition have been sabotaged and brought to ruin, as the disciples of the Truthbringer continue their holy work of cultivating the souls of Mankind. Organization and Hierarchy This is the Organization of the Priesthood from top to bottom. The Dark Cardinals The Dark Cardinals are the most powerful members of the Priesthood. Each is a Mortal Chaos Lord with deep knowledge of the ways of daemons and the malefic powers of the warp. They serve a role similar to Ecclesiarchial Cardinals. There are four Dark Cardinals currently: * The Reshaped One, Arch-Cardinal * Thaddius Ultan, Chosen of Sicarus * Xero, Witch-King of the Black Throng * Acra, Mistress of Q'sal * The Faceless, Wielder of the Nights Blade Infernal Confessors Beneath the Dark Cardinals are the Infernal Confessors. Devotees of the Dark Creed, they travel across the Galaxy seeking to spread the Gospel. They are usually accompanied by heretical Preachers, witches and other allies, which form their own inner circle of followers. Preachers These serve the same role of Ecclesiarchial preachers. They travel the Galaxy, either alone or accompanying more powerful figures, seeding the Gospel everywhere they go. Ideology and Tenets The Dark Priesthood follows the Word of Lorgar to a letter, through the lens of Empyrealist theosophical analysis. They worship their founder, Azunar, as a Herald of the Gods, and worship any and all Chaos Gods, major and minor, as different faces and aspects of Ruin, the Primordial Creator, of which all Souls are splinters. The Priesthood believes that the soul, Xenos or otherwise, is a thing of infinite potential for creation, if only it were freed from the trappings of material existence. Thus, they hope to awaken all souls to the truth of Chaos, and to free the souls from the prison of the Materium by destroying all matter and all the fundamental forces of physics, until only the Soul and it's divine power to create - what the sane call Imagination - remain. They call this grand realization of Realspace's illusory nature the Final Truth. (More to be added later) Relics of Importance The Icon of Eternity The Icon of Eternity is a banner made from the skin of Ecclesiarchal priests. It is said that Azunar had it bolted to the back of his armor in a climactic battle against the Black Templars. The Priesthood believes that those who wield it are granted a glimpse of Azunar's power. Notable Events/Battles (MORE TO BE ADDED LATER) Horror of Acrya The Dark Priesthood was a part of Azunar's assemblage of the Forces of Chaos to conquer the Acrya Triad. The End and The Beginning The tearing open of the Great Rift was a moment of awakening for the Priesthood, as it's leadership spasmed with ecstatic visions of the Aeon Reborn, the Material Universe finally vanquished. From countless daemon worlds and chaos-ruled realms throughout the Galaxy, the members of the Priesthood now gather in the Nether Coil, the Warp Storms at the center of the Galaxy becoming residence to legions of cultists, mutants and monsters. From their Throneworld at the center of the Galaxy, the Priesthood seeks to spread their message of enlightenment to every corner of the Imperium, that the veil may at last be shattered and the Final Truth realized. Quotes By (TO BE ADDED LATER) About (Feel free to add your own) Sources http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Chaos_Cult#The_Primordial_Annihilator Category:Chaos Cults